Apparatus for producing slivers



Oct. 28, 1941. J. KILLARs. JR 2,260,383

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SLIYERS Filed Aug. 26, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1AT1-'ORNEv4 s oct. 2s, 1941. J. KlLLARs, JR '2,260,383

APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SLIVERS Filed Aug. 26, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a4a a Patented Oct.' 1941 lUNITED is'm'rlz s PATENr-jlo-FFICE' (Cl.Iii-150) 2 Claims.

My invention relates to apparatus and method of manipulating orproducing slivers, rovings or the like formed from laments or bers and,further, my invention relates to the novel resulting products.

An object of my invention relates to the production in an improvedmanner of slivers, or rovings or the like from' continuous syntheticlaments and/or tops of natural fibers such as linen, hemp, jute, silk,wool, etc.

Another object of my invention relatesfto a novel method of producingslivers, or rovings,

etc. so that the resultantyarn has a better hand and shows, under themicroscope, a more perfect thread due to the greater uniformity of thethread and a greater parallelism of the fibers.

Various other objects, advantages and characteristics of my inventionwill become apparent from the following detailed description.

My invention resides in the apparatus, method, novel products, featuresand arrangements of the character hereinafter described and claimed.

For an understanding of my invention and for an illustration of someforms o'f my apparatus, reference is to be had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view illustrating sliver in wound formation;

1 Fig. 2 is a plan view, with parts omitted, of apparatus constructed inaccordance with my invention;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, ofthe apparatus shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in'Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing a modified form of cutting mechanism;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged Avertical sectional view, partly in elevation,showing 'the apparatus oi my invention;

Figs. 7 and 8 are plan views illustrating slivers as cut in accordancewith my invention; and

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic View illustrating the progressive change incharacter of a sliver when manipulated by the apparatus of my invention.

It is customary in the art for synthetic fibersA ribbon lapper andcomber, the tangled rayon bers are assembled more or less longitudinallyin a sliver suitable for drawing.

In accordance with my invention, -I manipulate for the desired purposesliver-balls, i. e., balls formed by the winding into a ball, orequivalent, of a sliver formed from the continuous laments extruded froma spinneret, or equivalent. In so doing, I eliminate various mechanismsas described above with attendant saving of time and money. At thesaine. time, I produce a superior product in the respects herein'noted.

Referring to Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 6', I have shown a base i which isadapted to be supported in suitable manner, said base i carrying theupstanding frames 2, 2 in which are journaled a plurality of pairs ofrollers 3 and 3a, li and 4a, 5 and 5a, 6 and 6a. As shown, the rollersof each pair are disposed one above the other and each lower roller,throughout the operative section thereof, is provided with ribsextending longitudinally thereof. All of the aforesaid lower rollers,asehereinafter more fully described, are adapted to be rotated atsuitable speed and, to this end,"there may be utilized gears, not shown,mounted in gear boxes 8, power being delivered to this mechanicalarrangement in any suitable manner as will be understood in the art.

The description stated above refers generally frame. Apparatus of thischaracter is well known to those skilled in the art and, ther for'e,further detailed description thereof is considered unnecessary.

In accordance with the invention, a plurality of sliver balls B, orequivalent, formed from Vthe continuous laments extruded from aspinneret, or equivalent, are disposed at one end of the describedapparatus and each sliver S from a ball B is passed first through aneyelet 9a carried by a movable member 9 and then over a spoon I0 pivotedin a manner well known to the art. The members 9 may be utilized to moveto apparatus known to the art as a dralwing under spring pressure sothat operation of the machine-is discontinued in case one of the sliversS becomes tangled. The spoons I0 may be utilized to move under springpressure so that cp- 'eration of the machine is discontinued in case -asliver S breaks while passing over the spoon with vwhich it isassociated.

-After the slivers S have assumed substantially side-by-side relation asshown in Fig. 4, they pass between a. pair of horizontally disposedplates I2, I3 supported in any suitable manner, for example, by theframes 2, 2. Adjacent the entrance to the plates l2, Il are a pair ofrollers Il and Ila, the lower roller Ila having ribs extendinglongitudinally thereof.

\ In accordance with the invention, a suitabl sliver severing or cuttingmeans is disposed between the set of rollers 3,- Ba' and the set ofrollers Il, I la. At present, this cutting means is exemplifiedpreferably by an arrangementl comprising a blade-like knife I having awidth sub- 5 stanuauy less than itslength. rig. e. 'rmsknife I5 issuitably secured to a holder I 5 rotated by In Fig. 4, the knife 'I5 isshown as occupying the position takenthereby just prior to the cuttingoperation. At this time and during the 3 subsequent sliver-cuttingoperation, said knife i5 is obliquely related to suitable extent, as atan angle of 45 degrees, more or less, to the lon- As shown in Fig. 6,theplates I2, I 3 are provided with the respective slots I2a, I3a whichare vertically alined so that the knife I5 may pass therethrough whileeffecting the 4cutting operation. As illustrated in Fig. 4, thesupporting and operating mechanism for the knife i5 is disposed at oneside of the sliver path. Accordingly, the knife i5, for each revolutionthereof, moves-once through the path of the slivers and.

preferably, the direction of knife rotation is such that the cuttingaction occurs on the down- I' stroke.' In Fig. 7, I havediagrammatically illusi trated the eiieot of the knife I5 on theside--by= 3 side slivers S.

The operation is as follows: Initially, the individual slivers S arethreaded through the eyelets da, over the spoons i@ and between therollers It, ida. Thereupon, power 1 is applied to the disclosedapparatus so-that the 1 rollers I d, 3, d, 5, 5 are rotatedcounter-clockwise and the rollers ida, 3a, da, 5a, da are rotatedclockwise, Fig. 3. While these rollers thus rotate,

the knife .i5 rotates continuously along its cirl cular path and, oncefor each cycle of rotation, 1 said knife I5 moves across the path of theslivers in the manner described. By connections, not l shown. it isdesirable that power be obtained from 1 the lower roller 3a for rotatingthe roller Ida and 3 the knife-I5. Or, other equivalent driving ar- 1rangements may be utilized.

The rollers I4, Ida cause the slivers S to move i from right to left,Figs. 3 and 4, until they come beneath the knife I5. In this zone, eachof the slivers S is cut by said knife I5 along a. line which i isobliquely related to the longitudinal sliver axis to a desired extent.These cut sliver sections, in side-by-side relation, are moved fromright to left, Figs. 3 and 4, by the rollers 3, 3a. 'Ihe un- 1 cutslivers S follow immediately after under the 1 control of the rollersIl, Ila and, dependent upon the timing, the knife I5 sweeps across thesliver path to thereby again cut. all of the .slivers S in 1 the mannerdescribed. In this manner, successive groups of cut sliver sections slhaving a desired length are produced and these groups, in succession,are moved from right to left, Figs. 3 and 4, by the rollers 3 and 3a, 4and la, 5 and 5a, 6 and 6a. By reason of the angle which the I knife I5takes with respect to the longitudinal Q gitudinal axes oi' therespective slivers. This is an important feature of the inventionaswillbe g hereinafter described.

sliver axis. it results that the cut sliver sections sI have taperedends. i. e., each sliver section is shaped somewhat like a trapezoid.

As stated, the sets oflrollers 3 and 3a, 4 and la, 5 and 5a, 5 and 6amove the cut sliver sections al from right to left, F188. 3 and 4. Inaddition,

particularly by reason of the fact that the slivers S are cut by theknife I5 on the bias as described, said sets of rollers servetorearrange the individual filaments or bers in the more or lesssideby-side cut sliver sections sI. Accordingly, beyond the rollers 6and 6a, there exists a resultant web formed from laments or bersarranged in substantially parallel relation and wherein the sliver Simay be formed into roving and then passed to the spinning frame.

In accordance with the invention and in order to obtain the desiredrearrangement of the laments or bers in the out sliver sections si, theysetsof rollers 3 and to, d and to, 5 and 5a, t

and 5a may be operated at those respective speeds I which are customaryin the prior art drawing frame practice wherein, as well understood, the1 speed of the set of rollers d and da is somewhat greater than thespeed of the set of rollers and 3a, the speed of the set of rollers 5and 5a being somewhat greater than the speed of the set of rollers d andda, and the speed ofthe set of rollers 6 and @a being somewhat greaterthan the speed of the set of rollers 5 and 5a. Further, in accordancewith the invention, it may be desirable to progressively increase thespeeds of the .various sets of rollersl d and da, 5 and 5a, t and tocompared with the prior art drawing frame practice.

Thus, in accordance with the invention, it has been determined that therollers 3 and 3a may rotate approximately at 50 Vrevolutions per minute,that the set of rollers d and da may rotate approximately at 63revolutions per minute,

that the set of rollers 5 and 5o may rotate approximately at ilorevolutions per minute9 and that the set of rollers d and ta 'may rotateapproximately at 300 revolutions per minute. It should be distinctlyunderstood that the invention is not to be limited to either thespecific or approximate rotative speeds just stated because I havedetermined 'that there is a wide range of operative speeds for thedescribed sets of rollers and that over such wide range desirableresults are obtained in accordance with the invention.

'I'he rotative speed of the set of rollers Il, I la should besubstantially the same as the rotative speed of the set-of rollers 3 and3a. As stated, the knife I5 may be geared to cut sliver sections sI of adesired length. At present, although not necessarily, it is desirablefor the length of said cut sliver sections sI to be between one and twoinches. f i V'! l Referring to Fig. 5, I have illustrated a'modifiedform of cutting means involving the use of two knives 25, 25 which maybe rotatably mounted in the general manner hereinbefore described.

AS indicated in Fig. 5, the hereinbefore described shaft la may beutilized for driving both of the bevel gears lBa in unison whereby theknives 25, 25 are similarly rotated.

Responsive to the described .driving arrangement, the knives, 25, 25rotate in opposite directions, Fig. 5, and, because positioned as shown,each knife cuts the side-by-side slivers S approximately one-half of thedistance thereacross. As clearly appears from Figs. and 8, said knives25, 25 are preferably so arranged that the cuts are staggered somewhatas shown.

Although the invention finds an important application in themanipulation of slivers S formed from continuous filaments of viscoserayon, it shall be understood that the invention is not to be solimited. Thus, for example, one or more of the aforesaid balls B (whichare formed from continuous artificial filaments as described) may havesubstituted therefor one or more balls, or equivalent, of sliver formedfrom natural fibers such, for example, as wool or other material. Withthis phase of the invention, the resultant sliver SI beyond the calendarrolls 2|, 2|a is a blend of natural and synthetic fibers.

While the invention has been described with respect to certainparticular preferred examples which give satisfactory results, it willbe understood by those skilled in the art after understanding theinvention, that variouschanges and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is intendedtherefore in the appended claims to cover all such changes andmodifications.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for the continuous conversion of continuous threads intospinnable slivers or yarns of non-continuous parallel fibers, comprisingfeeding means for said continuous threads, a supporting base or plateover which said threads move, a slot in said base or plate, a revolvingknife having substantially greater length than Width and capable ofpassing through said slot, means for mounting said knife for rotatablemoving, so that it moves through the path of said threads and said slotobliquely to the longitudinal axis of the threads and a series ofdrafting rollers withdrawing the cut fiber pieces from the cutting knifeWithout disturbing their parallel position and simultaneously draftingthem into a spinnable sliver or yarn.

2. Apparatus for the continuous conversion of continuous threads intospinnable slivers or yarns of non-continuous parallel fibers, comprisingfeeding means for said continuous threads, a supporting base or plateover which said threads move, two slots in said base or plate, situatedone before the other and in oblique position to the longitudinal axis ofsaid threads, both said slots extending from the outside of said base orplate to its center on either side, two revolving knives each havingsubstantially greater length than width and capable of passing throughsaid slots, means for mounting said knives one after the other forrotatable movement through the path of its half of continuous threadsobliquely to the longitudinal axis of said threads, each knife from yitsouter side of said threads to the center, passing through said slots andresulting in the formation of fiber pieces of equal length in staggeredposition, and a series of drafting rollers withdrawing the cut fiberpieces from the cutting knives without disturbing their parallelposition and simultaneously drafting them into a spinnable sliver oryarn.

JOI-1N KILLARS, Jn.

